The Great Lakes Pearl Dragons dragon boat club will hold its eighth annual regatta this weekend, November 16 and 17.
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Club member Denise Marr said the Pearl Dragons were excited about once again hosting the event, especially with a number of teams joining them for the first time.
Wollongong's SUDU and Sydney clubs FFB, Pittwater and Bluefins will join the already strong metropolitan contingent that make the annual trek up.
"Every year it has grown." Ms Marr said.
Regatta committee member Wendy Orman said the club had worked hard to attract more numbers from the city, promoting it at the Sydney International Regatta Centre each time they'd travelled down there to compete.
Fifteen clubs are expected to race on Saturday while 18 will take part on Sunday.
Among them will be fellow North Coast clubs and regatta regulars Manning River, Kempsey, Urunga, Wallis Spirit, Port Macquarie, Nambucca, South West Rocks and Camden Haven.
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The regatta will start on Saturday at 1:30pm, kicking off with the 2km/500m turn race - a unique two-kilometre event where teams secretly nominate whether they're aiming to win the race over the first 500 metres or the entire two-kilometre course.
Ms Marr said the race was both strategic and fun and was always popular with the teams.
"It's like a welcome to all the teams," she said.
"We've put that mystery twist into it and teams really like it."
Following the Saturday afternoon races a social event will be held at the Lakeside Tavern ahead of a full day's racing on Sunday.
Ms Marr said the event continued to grow in popularity partly because of the beauty of the local area.
"It's a good location. We always try not only to promote our regatta, but also the area," she said.
"Some clubs look at it as a bit of an end of year getaway."
She praised the committee members for once again doing an excellent job of organising the event.
"It's a lot of work," she said.
"The girls on the committee have worked hard all year."
Ms Orman said she hoped the event would help bring some positivity back into the community after the events of recent weeks.
"It's such a difficult time for everyone in the area but we are hoping that next weekend will lift the spirits of our community members and other communities," she said.
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